Six months on from the first volume, we just got the second of the latest Bujold series (a two-parter, alas, so this is it unless she can be persuaded to return to this world). It is not a spoiler to say that it starts with the best sex scene Bujold has ever written, and then gets into a gripping narrative of mixed marriage, impossible in-laws, and unspeakable horrors of a supernatural nature. Towards the end, I thought to myself, aha, she is just going to reprise the brilliant public tribunal ending to A Civil Campaign. But no, she chose a different path this time, which made for a really satisfying end to the book. Best novel I've read so far this month.